Collapsible molding device for culverts, &amp;c.



G. W. BIKER. v GOLLAPSIBLE MOLDING DEVICE FOR CULVERTS, 6w.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 6, 1910.

Patented June 6, 1911.

INVENTOR (5% .VW T H VVITNESSEF:

GEORGE W. RIKER, OF RUSSELL, IOWA.

aaaeoo.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 6, 1911.

AppIication filed April 6, 1910. Serial No. 553,779.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. BIKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Russell, in the county of Lucas and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible MoldingDevices for Culverts, &c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in molding devicesand more particularly to that class adapted to be used for moldingculverts, silos and similar hollow devices and my object is to providemeans for holding a plurality of bars in an assembled position.

A further object is to provide means within the mold for reinforcing thewalls thereof.

A further object is to provide means for releasing said reinforcingdevices.

A further object is to provide means whereby a number of the molds maybe attached end to end.

A further object is to provide means for locking the parts of the moldin their assembled positions.

A further object is to provide means for bracing the moldlongitudinally, and, a still further object is to provide means forholding the bar supporting members in vertical position within the mold.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter referred to and moreparticularly pointed out in the specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application,Figure 1 is a vertical central sectional view through the mold. Fig. 2is a transverse sectional view thereof. Fig. 8 is a plan view of theinterior bracing means for the mold sections. Fig. 4 is a plan view of aclamping device to hold the parts of the mold around the interiorbracing mechanism. Fig. 5 is a plan view of an interior bracingmechanism Where an arch is to be built, and, Fig. 6 is an elevation ofone of the mold bars show ing the manner of connecting a number of themolds end to end.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 indicates the casingof the mold, which is con structed from a plurality of bars 2, said barsbeing placed edge to edge when in their assembled position.

In order to interiorly brace the casing when the bars are assembledtogether, I provide bands 3, which bands are preferably formed of threeor more sections 4, 5 and 6, each section forming an arc of a circle,which when assembled will form a complete circle, one end of each of thesections 5 and 6 being pivoted respectively to the ends of the section 4by providing said sections with eyes 7, through which are introducedpivot pins 8. The opposite ends of the sections 5 and 6 are then broughtinto registration with each other anda locking pin 9 introduced throughthe eyes 10 thereon.

After the bands are assembled together, the bars 2 are positionedtherearound, thereby forming a tubular casing and in order to hold thebands in proper alinement within the casing, certain of the bars areprovided on their inner faces with plates 11, in which are formednotches 12, said notches being adapted to receive the sections formingthe band.

There are preferably two of the bands for each casing and the lockingends of the sections are preferably introduced into clips 13, said clipshaving openings therethrough to receive the pins 9. The bars, whenassembled, are held in position around the bands 3 by means of headblocks 14, one at each end of the bars, said head blocks having openingstherethrough to receive the ends of the bars. These head blocks form asupport for the casing and itliO limit the length of the article beingmolded. Should the head blocks not be used, however, loops 15,preferably of wire, are placed around the casing and the ends 16 thereofsecured together in any preferred manner, as by wrapping a cord one ormore times around said ends and drawing the cord taut when the same isfastened. When this operation is performed, binding wires 17 areintroduced around the casing and the ends thereof fastened, which willserve to hold the casing in its assembled position. As soon as thebinding wires have been placed in position around the casing, the loops15 are to be removed.

The head blocks 14 and the bars forming the casing are locked togetherby placing spiders 18 at each end of the casing, said spiders beingconnected together and clamped into engagement with the ends of thecasing by means of a rod 19, said rod extending longitudinally of thecasing and through the sections of the spiders, one end of the rod beingthreaded to receive a nut 20, while the opposite end thereof is providedwith any suitable form of head 21. The ends of the spiders projectbeyond the periphery of the casing 1 and serve to hold the head blocksin position on the casing, while the bars 2 forming the casing arefurther reinforced and held in position by placing brackets 22 on theinner faces of the spiders, upon which the ends of certain of the bars 2rest. The casing is further reinforced by providing one of the bandswith an upwardly extending eye 23, with which is engaged one end of abrace 24, the opposite end of the brace being engaged with an ear 25carried by one of the bars 2 and as said brace bar extends from thelower to the upper portion of the casing and at an angle to the trend ofthe casing, said brace will assist in holding the casing in rigidposition.

After the molding operation has been completed, the rod 19 is removedfrom the spiders and the spiders removed from the ends of the casing,when the head blocks 14 will be free to leave the ends of the casing.The bands 3 are then removed by removing the locking pins 9 from theeyes 10, thus permitting the ends of the sections 5 and 6 to drop downor assume the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, when the bandsmay be removed from the casing and the bars 2 thus left to be knockeddown and removed from the molded article.

The locking pins 9 are preferably removed simultaneously and one end ofeach of the pins has attached thereto a cable 26, the free end of whichcable is projected beyond the end of the mold, whereby said end may bereadily grasped to release the locking pins when it is desired to removethe casing from the molded article.

If it is only desired to form an arch instead of a cylindrical body, thesection 4 of the band is dispensed with and the sections 5 and 6 used,the free ends of said sections being adapted to be engaged with theground and preferably connected together by means of a chain 27 wherebythe same will be prevented from separation but it will be readilyunderstood that any suitable means for holding the ends of the sectionsagainst separation may be used. In this form, the bars 2 are placedaround the sections 5 and 6 in exactly the same manner as in cylindricalform and the means for re taining the same about the bands is the sameas in the other form with possibly a change to a semi-circular designfrom a circular one, which is really a very trivial matter.

In some instances, it is desired to construct a device of greater lengththan the single casing and when such is the case, any number of casingsmay be placed end to end and one set of the bars provided on their endswith extensions 28, which are adapted to engage the inner faces of thebars of the next casing, thereby forming a continuous casing for anydistance.

When it is desired to form an outer casing of concrete around a culvertor the like and at a desired thickness, frame sections 29 are provided,which frame sections have their lower ends preferably secured to theground, while the upper curved port-ions thereof are extended around thecasing 1 at a distance therefrom, the extreme upper ends of the framesections being attached together by securing a cord or the like 30around said upper ends. The frame sections 29 are adapted to receivetherearound additional bars similar to the bars 2 and any preferredmeans may be provided to hold the bars in place while the moldingoperation is being performed.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a very cheap and economicalform of mold, such as is designed primarily to form arches or bodieshaving circular openings therethrough. It will further be seen that thecasing of the mold can bequickly assembled and applied to use and thatthe parts forming the mold will be rigidly held in position whenassembled. It will likewise be seen that the parts of the mold can bequickly knocked down and removed from the molded object. It willlikewise be seen that by placing a strip of tarred or other form ofpaper 81 around the bars 2, the interior of the culvert or other objectbeing molded will be left perfectly smooth, while the bars will morereadily separate when being re moved from the molded object.

What I claim is 1. In a mold of the class described, the combinationwith a casing formed of a plurality of bars, of collapsible bandsadapted to fit in said casing, means to hold the bands in positionwithin the casing, pins adapted to hold the bands in their expandedpositions and means to release said pins simultaneously, whereby thebands will collapse.

2. In a mold of the class described, the combination with a casingformed of a plurality of bars; of collapsible bands adapted to fitwithin said casing, means to hold said bands in position within saidcasing, clips carried by the inner faces of certain of said bars toreceive the locking ends of said bands, pins extending through saidclips and the ends of said bands to retain the same in expandedposition, and means to simultaneously release said pins, whereby thebands will collapse.

3. In a mold of the class described, the combination with a casingformed of a plurality of bars; of collapsible bands adapted to fitwithin said casing, plates secured to the inner faces of certain of saidbars and having notches therein to receive said bands and position thesame within said casing, clips carried on the inner faces of certainother bars to receive the locking ends of said bands, pins extendingthrough said clips and the ends of said bands, and means tosimultaneously release said pins to allow said bands to collapse.

4. In a mold of the class described, the combination with a casingformed of a plurality of bars; of collapsible bands about which saidcasing is formed, plates on the inner faces of certain of said bars andhaving notches therein to receive said bands for the positioning of thesame within said casing, outside bracing means for said bars, additionalmeans to brace said bars from within, said latter means cooperating withone of said bars and one of said bands, and means to cause said bands tocollapse.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE W. BIKER.

Witnesses:

A. F. JENKINS, HOMER Jnrrnnas.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

